


a midnight jamboree

by chikoo



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Halloween, Horror, M/M, Supernatural Elements, shane has eldritch demon energy and so does yunho, smol angry joong!, tol cheery yunho!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:21:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chikoo/pseuds/chikoo
Summary: “And 3, 2, 1! Hello and welcome to the Twilight Diaries, I’m Yunho.”“I’m Hongjoong and this week, we’re going to be spending the night in the infamous abandoned ski resort outside Pyeongchang! And I’m freezing my balls off, I am not looking forward to this” he mutters, shivering while Yunho snorts loudly next to him.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Kim Hongjoong
Comments: 24
Kudos: 122





	a midnight jamboree

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> This was supposed to be a ficlet collection but I didn't end up writing more so I'm just editing this to be a one-shot and bumping up the date. I'm kinda spring cleaning my ao3 lmao so i might edit/delete a few things.  
> hope you like this!

“Oh my god, this place is even creepier in person.” 

It’s early evening, the sky just about fading into a quiet, ominous black and the open, abandoned expanse of cabins and run-down structures in front of them looks sinister. It should be cosy and inviting, this resort with pastel-coloured buildings and bright red cable cars, settled neatly into a nook bordered by looming mountains and crested with the beginnings of winter snow. But Hongjoong looks into the wide entrance in front of them, the glass doors collapsed until there’s no separation from the endless, dark hallway inside, and he shivers violently. 

Next to him, Yunho snorts and slaps him so hard on the back that Hongjoong stumbles forward a little, glaring at his oversized companion. 

“Well, we’re here now, might as well get this over with huh?” He says with a smile that’s w _ay_ too bright for such a dingy, insidious place. Not for the first time, Hongjoong wishes he’d chosen a place even scarier than this one, just so he could see Yunho crack that beaming, puppy boy facade and look scared for once. It always backfires though, Hongjoong thinks grumpily, every time he picks an increasingly more terrifying place, Yunho just leaves more excited than ever while Hongjoong sprouts another section of white hair on his head and can’t sleep without the lights on for days after. 

He sighs, hefting the heavy bag of equipment on his shoulder and handing it to Yunho petulantly. 

“You can carry this then so that when something tries to kill us, I can run and leave you behind,” he grumbles, bristling when Yunho laughs again, high-pitched and endearing and takes the bag wordlessly, sliding his free hand over Hongjoong’s shoulder. 

“I think I’ll manage. Should we get started then?” 

They work together to set up the camera, setting it up so that the front of the main cabin and reception building is visible, along with a glimpse of the sprawling array of the other cabins and the glass-domed structure of the outdoor pool area. At least they’re not completely alone tonight, Hongjoong thinks with some comfort. The security guards are in a little outhouse only a few feet away from them and they’d explained which places were open to the public and which places are practically hazardous to go through. 

Tonight, they don’t have Jongho with the third camera; their intern had broken his arm in an unfortunate wrestling incident and the two of them will need to film everything on camcorders and portable devices. Which is fine, that’s what they used to use when they first started the channel. But Hongjoong misses Jongho’s sturdy presence and his shared distaste of Yunho’s apparent comfort with any and all haunted buildings. They have a running bet going on and Hongjoong’s tossed in an alarming amount of money that _this_ place, this resort is going to be the one that breaks Yunho. He doesn’t like losing. 

“Okay, it’s all set. I’m going to start the timer,” Yunho announces and Hongjoong zips up his winter jacket a little tighter, skin prickling in the cold. Yunho jogs towards him, counting down, holding up the hand-held camera for up-close shots. 

“And 3, 2, 1! Hello and welcome to the Twilight Diaries, I’m Yunho.” 

“I’m Hongjoong and this week, we’re going to be spending the night in the infamous abandoned ski resort outside Pyeongchang! And I’m freezing my balls off, I am _not_ looking forward to this” he mutters, shivering while Yunho snorts loudly next to him. 

“I’d never heard of this place before you told me about it,” Yunho muses, looking up at the menacing building behind them dubiously. “What’s infamous about it?”

“Well, according to local legends and _multiple_ sightings it’s teeming with spirits. Apparently, there was an alarming number of deaths here from the time the resort first opened until they were forced to shut it down. Freak accidents, cable cars falling down out of nowhere, strange drownings, and an alarming number of children getting lost, bodies turning up years later.” 

Yunho frowns and turns around, filming the mountains in the distance. “I wouldn’t be surprised, a mountainous region, a lot of snow, so many people go missing in weather like this.” 

“I mean yeah, but it was a lot. Like almost 20 kids in the 6 decades this place was open. And despite precautions put in place. That’s a little concerning don’t you think?” 

Yunho just hums and opens his mouth to presumably cite a more than reasonable explanation like he usually does and Hongjoong rolls his eyes, barrelling on. 

“Anyway, this place has been investigated so many times and nothing ever came up like no kidnappings rings, serial killers or anything. And combined with all the stories the locals here have? I have a feeling this place is going to give us the most concrete evidence of the supernatural we’ll ever get,” Hongjoong says, body buzzing with a strange kind of excitement despite his fear. 

“You mean, in comparison to the _overwhelming_ amount of evidence we’ve gotten before?” Yunho quips and flashes the camera another dazzling smile. Hongjoong tries not to do something embarrassing like growl out loud. 

“Come on, you infuriating piece of shit and let’s get this over with,” Hongjoong says, looping his arm through Yunho’s and dragging him into their residence for the night. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


They set up their bedspreads right near the reception, the only place not likely to cave in according to the guards. Also, Hongjoong likes the proximity to the front doors; he’s been scanning and studying this place for all its exits much to Yunho’s amusement but he likes to be _prepared_ , thank you very much. 

“Okay, we should cover cabin no.3, the children’s playground and finally the outdoor pool. That one’s apparently where most of the sightings happen.” 

“What ghosties and ghouls are we dealing with?” Hongjoong gives the camera a dead-pan face while Yunho giggles. 

“Cabin no. 3 has a couple, apparently? Found dead in the late 70s, cause of death was asphyxiation. Some of the locals think they were driven crazy by whatever resides here and were killed by it,” Hongjoong answers, heart already beginning to thrum restlessly. The inside of this place is even worse, peeling wallpaper and the smell of mildew sticking to the air. It’s mostly empty, cleared of furniture but paintings and crackled pictures hang up on the walls, relics of a forgotten past; the theme was clearly inspired by European, post-colonial architecture with the gold-gilded paintings and sinking, wooden pillars. 

“By _it_?” Hongjoong shakes off his jitters, turning to Yunho who’s finished rolling out his bedspread and is filming Hongjoong. With the way his hand is moving, he’s clearly zooming into Hongjoong’s face and Hongjoong scoffs, smiling bashfully and shoving at the camera. 

“ _Ass._ Yeah, it, whatever thing, _entity_ has like, cursed this place. The locals certainly believe so. I tried to research and see if this place was maybe built on sacred ground? But there doesn’t seem to be anything here before the resort,” Hongjoong tells the camera, blushing a little when Yunho reaches out to straighten his beanie, pulling it down comfortably over his head. 

“Interesting,” Yunho says, walking around the reception and filming everything. “Are we dealing with a demon then? A little horned, goat-hoofed creature?” As usual, Yunho looks thoroughly entertained by the idea. 

“You always love the ones with the demons don’t you?”

“I just feel like they’re something more formidable you know. Like the final boss. I like asserting my dominance,” Yunho announces, puffing out his chest comically. Hongjoong whacks him on the back of the head and walks off. 

“You’re so annoying.” 

“Yeah but I add comedic value and you love it,” Yunho says cheerily and follows Hongjoong out of the reception. 

* * *

  
  
  


They finish their rounds at the cabin with nothing except for eerie darkness and the smell of rotten wooden bedframes. The stench of mould is so unbearable, Hongjoong focuses more on that then on the possibility of the spirits of an angry couple terrorising him in the dark. 

When he walks out, his favourite spirit box still clamouring away despondently in his hand, Yunho’s standing outside the cabin, a shit-eating smile plastered to his face. 

“Don’t say a word,” Hongjoong warns, glaring at him through the camera. 

“I wasn’t! But on a scale of 1-10, how convinced are you that this place is haunted?” 

“Shut up,” Hongjoong snipes and moves on to the next place: the children’s playground. He has high hopes for this one, all those stories he’d read, interviews he’d conducted of people claiming to see ghosts of lost children playing around, phantom swings moving with no wind, sounds of laughter and fun echoing into the empty night. 

They shut the cameras off while they make the trek to the playground, the only sounds the crunch of gravel under their feet. The air’s gotten so much colder and every time Hongjoong breathes, a puff of frost blooms in front of his nose. He shivers, rubbing at his arms, and jumps when something touches his shoulder. 

“Hey, here, take my jacket.” Yunho hands him his heavy fleece jacket but Hongjoong frowns staring at the thin turtleneck Yunho’s wearing underneath, trying to ignore the way it hugs his chest and arms. 

“You can’t walk around in a turtleneck, dude, it’s so cold,” he protests but Yunho just shrugs, bodily stopping Hongjoong and manhandling him into wearing the jacket before he can say anything. Immediately, warmth settles around Hongjoong’s torso, seeping into his skin like butter on a warm slice of toast. He sighs and bundles himself up a little more, peeking up at Yunho who’s looking down at him with a strange, sweet expression. 

“Cute,” Yunho says, rubbing at Hongjoong’s shoulder fondly and this time, Hongjoong shudders for an entirely different reason. “And don’t worry, I don’t get cold that easily.” 

Hongjoong stares up at Yunho, at the pale, smooth skin of his cheeks, the blush high on his cheekbones and the cut of his jaw, soft and mellow under the light of the moon. It feels like he can’t stare at Yunho for too long, like he’s looking at something too bright, too damaging. He mutters a quick thank you and looks away. 

In the distance, shadowy shapes emerge and Hongjoong’s breath quickens until the moon illuminates the glint of rusting metal, broken-down seesaw and a small swing set and slide. It looks sorrowful more than scary, something deeply unsettling about seeing an unused, forgotten children’s playground. They walk all the way over till they’re standing right in front of the swings and Hongjoong begins filming the second Yunho decides to try to fit his ass into a dangerously creaking swing. 

He sits there like a large, satisfied cat stuffed into a small box for all of five seconds before it starts making dangerous, squeaky noises and he jumps out of it, accompanied by Hongjoong’s full-chested laugh. 

“Well, here it is. This place looks sad almost. We should try the spirit box here too,” Hongjoong says, rummaging for the little device. 

“Why sad?” Yunho’s leaning on the edge of the railing of the slide, eyes following the structure from up to down, like he’s watching someone slide down it, a small smile on his face. 

“Well, it’s a kid’s place, you know? It should be happy and fun. It just makes it creepier that it’s all abandoned now,” Hongjoong explains and jolts a little when the spirit box comes on, the sound piercing in the quiet of the night. For a few moments, they wait, nothing echoing except for the choppy loud, buffering noise and Hongjoong sighs, turning the thing over to turn it off when-

_“Handsome!”_

Hongjoong almost trips over his feet with how fast he moves, shuffling towards Yunho, who doesn’t seem as shocked as Hongjoong. 

“Tell me you heard that,” he demands, hands fisting into Yunho’s turtleneck. Yunho makes a considering face and nods slowly, uncurling Hongjoong’s fingers from his chest gently. 

“I did,” he says and he doesn’t sound very impressed. Hongjoong tuts, heart pounding. He lifts the box up to Yunho, shaking it vigorously. He knows the fans are going to have a field day with this episode, oh my _god._

“Say something, ask a question!” Yunho clears his throat theatrically and looks around the playground. 

“What did you say? Can you please repeat what you said?” 

Nothing for a beat. And then, crackling but clear enough for both of them to hear, “ _Ahjussi is handsome.”_

Hongjoong’s mouth drops open in a wordless scream, body buzzing so loudly he’s certain Yunho can hear it. 

“Oh my god, holy _shit._ Does it mean one of us? Who is this?” Then directly into the spirit box, “Can you tell us who you are?” 

Silence. 

Yunho hums, shifting on his feet and repeats what Hongjoong said. “Can you tell me who you are?” 

Immediately, the crackling, high-pitched voice echoes through: _“Wooyoung! And my best friend, Sannie!”_

Hongjoong’s heart feels like it’s going to fall out of his chest. He shares a wide-eyed look with Yunho who, for the first time, looks a little rattled, eyes wide and brows furrowed. 

“Wooyoung are you here with us?” Yunho asks and Hongjoong shudders when the reply comes almost immediately. 

“ _Yes, obviously.”_ Yunho raises an eyebrow, snorting. “Okay then, a sarcastic ghost child.” Hongjoong’s having a hard time vocalising things. 

“Wait, which ahjussi do you think is handsome? Me or my small friend?” Hongjoong musters enough energy to pinch Yunho’s cheeks, pulled into a wry smile. 

_“You. The small one looks like an angry cat.”_

“I beg your pardon,” Hongjoong exclaims, glaring at the spirit box in outrage. The first fucking time they get any evidence and it’s an obnoxious little ghost child who insults him. 

“Yunho, this is insane holy shit. We got that all on film right?” Yunho nods, holding the camera up and zooming into Hongjoong’s face. He knows he probably looks crazed, sweating in the cold, lips quivering. But he doesn’t care how he looks, he’s more preoccupied with the fact that they just spoke to a fucking ghost on camera. Suddenly, he registers that the ghosts, the spirits, whatever they are, are _here_ , surrounding them, where they can’t see. 

He shifts a little closer to Yunho, placing a cautious hand on Yunho’s forearm and hoping his friend won’t be mean enough to make fun of him on camera for being scared. But all Yunho does is clasp Hongjoong’s hand in his and hold the camera up higher so their hands don’t come in the frame. 

“Well, Wooyoung can you tell us a little about yourself?” The spirit box stays quiet. Yunho tries again, asking a few more questions but nothing entertains them. They stand for a few moments more, trying to communicate in different ways but it’s as if whatever was there has disappeared now. 

Hongjoong shuts the camera off and takes a deep breath. 

“Holy fucking shit, I cannot believe that just happened,” he whisper-screams, squeezing Yunho’s hand tight, shaking it excitedly. “I’m this close to shitting my pants how are you not affected by this?” 

Yunho shrugs and gathers Hongjoong’s shivering frame into a hug. “Well, one of us has to be the brave one, right?” Hongjoong snorts into his shoulder but lets himself sag, hiding his face into Yunho’s chest, till the playground, the fucking ghost, everything, melts away for a tiny second. Then he sighs and pulls away, already thinking of the pool and what they might find there. 

“Time to get to the pool. I’m actually terrified of what we might find there. At least here it was ghost kids. The pool seems so much worse,” he says, teeth chattering. Yunho gives his hand a squeeze and tugs him forward wordlessly. Then with a muttered excuse, he breaks away and jogs up to the swings, pushing one a few times and running back to Hongjoong with bright eyes. 

“Sorry I just wanted to do that,” he says goofily and Hongjoong squints, rolling his eyes. 

As they walk away, he doesn’t notice the way the swing moves faster and higher, the one next to it following suit. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The pool is fucking terrifying. 

It’s a massive, gaping structure, housing strange shadows and beams of light that come in through the stained glass roof, broken beach chairs lining the side of the pool, thick plants growing between gaps in the concrete. It looks eerie and desolate and easily, the most unsettling place in the entire resort. 

Hongjoong holds onto Yunho’s hand stubbornly and every time the shadows shift, moonlight obscured by passing clouds, he tries not to shriek. 

“Oh this place is lovely,” Yunho announces and Hongjoong wonders if Yunho hadn’t been dropped on the head as a child. 

“Are you serious right now?” Yunho gives him an innocent, wide-eyed look and gestures around them. 

“It’s so pretty! I’m sure in the sunlight this would be an aesthetic place. The kind of place you like, hyung,” he says pointedly and Hongjoong looks around just as the shadows shift in the dark corner and trembles, keeping his gaze fixed on Yunho’s neck.

“No, thank you, I am not sticking around to see this place in the morning,” he says resolutely. Then, he decides he needs to be the grown-ass adult he is and lets go of Yunho’s hand, missing its warmth already. 

“We should walk around with the spirit box. I’ll carry it and you just- do your thing,” he says dismissively and Yunho snorts. Yunho’ll be fine, he usually enjoys wandering around these places anyways. “I feel like this place is too big to do 5 minutes alone so let’s just explore it together.” 

Yunho gives him a thumbs up and lumbers away to the other end immediately, leaving Hongjoong behind to fumble with the spirit box and try not to look around too much. He lifts the camera and torch in one hand and the spirit box in the other and begins walking slowly, ambling around and jumping when he steps too hard on the crumbling tile. 

There are still metal rungs stuck to the side of the pool and he tests them tentatively, trying to decide if it’s worth going to the bottom. They don’t seem sturdy enough though so he backs off, sitting at the edge instead and letting his legs dangle. The spirit box makes its familiar, crackling sounds, still silent. 

He shines the torch in various places, filming everything in his sight. All the way in the back corner of the room, Yunho’s trying to lie down on one of the rotting beach chairs. Hongjoong scoffs and zooms in on him, documenting his plight. Suddenly, as Hongjoong looks through the camera, something white flashes by the screen. It’s too fast for Hongjoong to really see it but it’s bright, so bright that he jumps, almost dropping the camera. 

He lifts it up again and films in the same place, the patch of the floor right in front of Yunho. There’s an unmistakable white shadow there, large and round, not even two feet before Yunho. Hongjoong stares at it and looks up but sees nothing. Then he looks through the camera again and the blob is bigger. 

“Yun-”

It happens so fast Hongjoong doesn’t realise until the torch tumbles from his hand. Something shoves him, a hard, vicious shove to the middle of his back and he lurches forward, hands outstretched, hurtling down to the bottom of a 9-foot pool. 

But he never hits the ground. He lands on something softer and is gently placed on the ground. Panting, he looks up to see Yunho right next to him, cradling him. 

“What the fuc-”

“Are you okay?” Yunho’s so close, close enough that Hongjoong can see the pearl of sweat running down his temple. His skin itches with something overwhelming and restless and he scrambles out of Yunho’s arms. 

“What just happened? How the- how did you catch me?” 

“What are you talking about? I saw you fall and I jumped-”

“Yunho you were far away from me. There’s no way in hell you could have caught me. And I- I didn’t fall, something _pushed_ me,” he splutters and then realises how ridiculous, how paranoid he sounds. But as he picks up the camera and box with shaking fingers he can’t think of another explanation. He hadn’t imagined the touch to his back, couldn’t possibly have imagined it. 

“Hey, I was close, hyung, I just ran over, it barely took me a few seconds. You’re okay, hey, Hongjoong hyung, you’re _okay,_ ” he says, calm and gentle and places a placating hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder when he sees Hongjoong’s chest heaving. “It was just an accident, don’t worry. You’re fine.” 

Hongjoong licks his lips and fumbles with the devices in his hand. 

“Can we just go to sleep? I don’t want to do this anymore.” 

Yunho purses his mouth, looks beyond Hongjoong, at something in the distance and Hongjoong catches the flit of something in Yunho’s eyes, something that looks like _rage_ before it vanishes. He looks back at Hongjoong and smiles. 

“Of course, let’s get out of here.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  


It’s nearing 1 am when they get back to the reception area, freshening up in the communal bathrooms the guards use in the outhouse and then settling down for the night. 

What Hongjoong hadn’t considered was the awful, chilly draft coming in from the open reception doors, a draft he can’t escape even under two blankets and bundled in Yunho’s fleece jacket. He looks to his side where Yunho’s splayed out, blanket barely covering him and makes a face. 

He turns over, and then immediately regrets it because then he’s facing the doors and outside looks even scarier than the inside at this moment, mishappen, odd shapes in the distance, swaying in the wind. He shuts his eyes, brings the blankets up to his face and tries his best to relax. 

It’s futile: every sound, every creak makes him jolt. He flips on to his back and sighs loudly. 

“You okay?” Yunho peeks at him from his bedspread, eyes round and worried. He looks so cute. And so _warm._ Hongjoong’s fear-ridden brain makes a decision before he can deliberate on it. 

“Can you- can you like, cuddle me?” Yunho blinks at his request and Hongjoong’s about to sputter in embarrassment when Yunho sits up wordlessly and pulls his bedspread over till it’s touching Hongjoong’s. Slowly, he lays a hand over Hongjoong’s stomach, sidling up close to him. It’s so much warmer already and Hongjoong wonders if Yunho just runs hotter than most people, like a walking fucking furnace. 

He turns onto his side and pushes back till his back is moulded into Yunho’s chest, his hand bringing Yunho’s up to his face. Shivering a little as the residual chill leaves his body, he gets comfortable and tries not to dwell too much on how perfectly Yunho fits behind him. 

“Feel better?” Hongjoong nods and touches the back of Yunho’s palm to his own cheek, eyes drooping almost immediately. 

“Hyung?” 

“Hmm?”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, yeah? As long as I’m around you’re safe. Nothing will dare touch you,” Yunho whispers and if Hongjoong wasn’t already succumbing to the lull of sleep he would raise an eyebrow or two at Yunho’s steely tone. But all he does is hum and press a fond kiss to Yunho’s fingers, face going lax immediately. 

He falls asleep so fast he doesn’t even shift when Yunho gets up and walks outside, barefoot. A few moments later, a strange flashing light erupts in the pool glasshouse. He barely even registers it when Yunho returns, body running even hotter than before, heat leeching into Hongjoong’s skin when he hugs him from behind. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“Well, that’s fucking it. I’m never coming back here, you couldn’t pay me a million bucks.” 

It’s morning and it’s sunny and their taxi is waiting for them and all in all, Hongjoong thinks it’s a blessed fucking day. 

“So what’s the verdict? Are ghosts real or not?” Yunho asks him, holding the taxi door open for him and smiling down at him in that heart-stopping, blinding way. For a moment, Hongjoong swears Yunho’s teeth look a little longer than they used to, his eyes gleaming orange in the harsh sun. He blinks and the moment’s gone and he shakes his head, scoffing. 

“Man, I don’t even know,” he says, giggling. “All I know is that I’m going to go grey before I hit forty and that’s terrifying. I’d look so ugly with grey hair, Yunho.” 

“I think you’d look really pretty actually. You always look good hyung.” 

“... You’re- Jesus, Who just says things like that?” 

“What? It’s the truth!” 

They bicker all the way through the way home, and if Yunho places a palm on the back of Hongjoong’s neck and Hongjoong places his on Yunho’s thigh, well, there’s no one there but an amused taxi driver, who would say a damn thing. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked reading this please do leave a kudos and consider leaving a comment, they're very motivating!  
> Thank you and Happy Halloween!!  
> you can find me @fightmehyuk on twt, would love to hear from y'all if you have any specific prompts in mind!


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